tiabunna's photos with the keyword: Macquarie

The members of the 1968 Macquarie Island ANARE expedition, at our 47th anniversary reunion dinner - where have the years gone? Several others (mainly overseas) were unable to attend. The official 1968 group shot was posted earlier (see note).

The breeding colony of the Royal Penguins, a hundred or so metres inland from Sandy Bay. Parks Tasmania have constructed a walkway for tourists (this is the only place on the island, apart from the station area, where tourists are permitted). Note especially the tremendous devastation of dead and dying vegetation as a result of the massive rabbit infestation at that time (Dec 2005).

This little creek, at Sandy Bay on Macquarie Island, is the main access route between the beach and the breeding colony a little inland. There is a busy and constant two way traffic, interrupted sometimes by arguments over who infringed the traffic rules!

King penguins near the station, Macquarie Island.

Without doubt, these really deserve their title. Very majestic birds indeed and, as can be seen, regally dressed.

From an old slide. Midwinter is the year's major event in the Antarctic regions: there are suitable celebrations and, in most years at the Australian stations, a performance of a rather bawdy rhyming version of Cinderella. See, we did have culture down there! Here the Prince meets Cinders (on the far right) while the ugly sisters and the villain look on.

From an old slide. View southwards down the "main street", past a hexagonal storage hut from the earliest days of the ANARE Station, then the Met office and balloon shed, with the newly installed WF2 radar to the left and the main bulk of the island beyond. There was a forest of large radio masts to give VHF communications. Most of all, one of the regular drops of snow - the weather here today reminded me that winter is again coming. If you wish to see a "live" view of this area, the Australian Antarctic Division has a webcam viewable at www.antarctica.gov.au/webcams/macquarie-island .

From an old slide. This was taken just moments after my previous shot. As I commented, successfully launching the large balloon, radiosonde (the white box for sending temperatures) and large radar reflector (the funny mesh thing in the middle) was tricky on windy days such as this one: note the relative angles of the balloon, pulling hard, its payload, and the horizon.

From an old slide. This is an immature Southern Elephant Seal putting on a threat display. He's probably about two years old, with what looks like a moulting female resting behind. Surrounding him is some of the giant kelp which grows around the shores of Macquarie Island and is tangled around the beaches.

From an old slide. Toward the end of winter, the bull elephant seals arrive and stake out "their" patch of beach to establish a harem. This is a mature bull with the fully developed extended nose which leads to their name. Yes, the island does have reasonably frequent "freeze-ups" during the year, most for only several days. Best viewed on black.

From an old slide. Unique to the island, we knew these as Macquarie Island Cormorants, but clearly someone has changed the name.

From an old slide taken with a Minolta SR1 and 55/1.4 lens. For several years, an Erect-crested penguin (on the right) had been nesting on the island with a slightly-related Royal penguin (their eggs were sterile). But unlike the Royal, the Erect-crested penguin is not a native of Macquarie Island: they come from the islands to the south of New Zealand, something like 1000 km distant.

Young male elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) spend their days either sleeping or practicing fighting (done by bashing together, as was happening here till I interrupted). Fighting skills will become important later in life, when they try to attain "Beachmaster" status. From an old Kodachrome slide taken with a Minolta SR1 and Auto Rokkor 1.4 58mm lens..

Our new WF2 balloon tracking radar in its red radome shows up well in this photo, taken about February in 1968. The "Nella Dan" was stranded on the rocks adjacent to the radar in December 1987 and scuttled offshore on Christmas Eve of that year. You can find some excellent photos of the stranding by entering "Nella Dan Macquarie Island" in the Flickr search box.

Taken during changeover of annual expedition parties, looking past the Nissen Huts used for storage and down the isthmus past the radio and meteorology offices, with the main part of the island beyond.